Just the Seven Pines part or the whole automated signpost from The House That Jack Built?

Well I was thinking just the Seven Pines sign Mike, but now you mention it, the who thing would be cool I assumed for some reason that the entire post was genuine and the production had just added the Seven pines section for filming ?

Just cut out the pieces from perspex. I have no idea why (and who knows all these years later), but my gut feeling is telling me that this sign is aluminium in colour rather than white. It's just more ornate, made to appear older looking. And if it had been white, then I think it would have been more the shade of the white bands on the post in the photo.

Just the Seven Pines part or the whole automated signpost from The House That Jack Built?

Well I was thinking just the Seven Pines sign Mike, but now you mention it, the who thing would be cool I assumed for some reason that the entire post was genuine and the production had just added the Seven pines section for filming ?

Ian

This is Shenley Hill about a mile and a half east from the village of Shenley, on Rectory Lane. There is a turning circle here and a circular piece of grass with a signpost on it, so from that I conclude that the signpost in the episode was the real thing, but the crew had placed prop signs over the original ones. The Pendlesham Ponds sign was a prop covering what would have pointed to Shenley. The London marker was also a prop sign would have been covering St Albans, I know this from what the current signpost indicates. The Seven Pines marker was obviously a prop made at Elstree Studios and temporarily attached to the signpost for filming by the crew. The remaining sign that indicated 'no through road' would also appear to be a prop as it pointed to what was the original entrance to the nearby Shenley Lodge (the house where Emma became trapped), now known as Manor Lodge School.

Both Emma's Lotus and Steed's Bentley were both filmed on this muddy track, that ran down between the house and the farm at Shenley Hill. The actual driveway into the grounds at Shenley Lodge that has long gone having been built over by some stables of the riding school that now occupies the farm. A new much larger entrace and car park was constructed years ago further along Rectory Lane, when Shenley Lodge became a school and it appears that the land incorporating the old entrance drive and track were sold off to the farm. Reversing the Bentley into the farm gateway, Steed then proceeded to smash his way through the barrier and go down the muddy track only to have his tyres punctured by the automatic slasher. Leaving his vehicle he proceeeded on foot, but now on location heading up Mymms Lane, approximately a mile to the south of Shenley Hill.

Earlier Steed had aready driven his Bentley down Mymms Lane in the opposite direction and also down the nearby Packhorse Lane. On her way to Pendlesham Ponds, Emma's Lotus has been travelling in an easterly direction along Rectory Lane, moving away from Shenley. The scene where Steed's Bentley arrived at a dead end in the woods would appear to be where the muddy track at Shenley Hill concluded. The track is now a footpath, being so overgrown as not to be wide enough for vehicles and there is a concrete bollard preventing cars from entering at the entrance. Some footage of the Lotus was undertaken in Buckinghamshire at Ivinghoe Beacon, though only the car and Michael Wynne were on location, with all Diana Rigg's shots being done inside a soundstage against back projection.

The farm became a riding school many years ago and has been redeveoped and now it also occupies the field that Steed pulled up beside in the Bentley before reversing. The fence has also gone and it has been replaced by a low wall. The roads look reasonably wide in the episode, but they are quite narrow and much busier than in the swinging sixties. I have visited Shenley Hall on several occasions, including last year's treasure hunt, where it was one of the filming locations on the Sunday tour.

Last edited by MikeR on Sat Apr 15, 2017 7:46 am; edited 1 time in total

Wow Mike, thank you for taking the time to go through it, All that absolutely fascinates me, mainly because my love of The Avengers is largely based on 'Avengerland' itself more than any other aspect of the show. I think this is why I build the props, to recreate the era, the world that's seen on screen. I'm mesmerised by all the locations. buildings, sets, signs, props, cars. Anything about the locations then and now totally bewitches me. Its a good job you don't live down south I'd be constantly having you to dinner and bending your ear on it all

On another note, I've built some props so far but the Seven Pines sign is proving to be a nightmare !

Painting this is giving me the mother of all headaches. When I said it would be a cool project for over Easter I didn't mean for it to take up the entire holiday ... And I opted for white not aluminium in the end.

Last edited by Avengerholic on Mon Apr 17, 2017 12:24 pm; edited 6 times in total

Finished: The old, weathered 'Seven Pines' electronic road sign seen in The House That Jack Built.
Not something I will EVER attempt again, and one of the few things that I, at times, wished I'd never started !